To myself, and to all the others, I believe that Callum’s loss cut the deepest. I think of him often, of the man he would’ve become. Perhaps I felt his loss more keenly because he was the other half of my pairing, my shared step on our ladder. Perhaps it was also his betrayal at the hands of the person he loved most, something I could relate to, although my experience with Asche paled in comparison. Even now I feel his loss, and it hurts my soul that his horrific story is the legacy he left behind. For there’s no parting him and Umbra, even in death. In our minds, they are permanently entwined, and that’s what breaks my heart the most.

—Cindra, Letter to Omega

No. But Umbra had.

We made it to the edge of the cliff just in time to see her unskinned hand close around Stella’s throat. Stella fought back, her fingernails scrabbling uselessly against the smooth metal.

When she’d come for us at the compound, between our haste and the door between us, I hadn’t really gotten a good look at her. She’d been just a blur of synthetic skin and metal, and her disturbing child-face. Now, as she held Stella aloft, I finally understood the reason for her mismatched limbs. It wasn’t, as I’d originally suspected, a lack of care.

They were weapons.

Instead of fingers on her left hand, she wielded a fan of curved blades, like claws. Her left leg was likewise armed from hip to foot, a line of small scythe-like blades protruding from the front. Clearly, they’d prepared her well for bringing back Fane at any cost.

We stood frozen as she turned her face toward us. Her eyes were wide and artless as she drew a line of red across Stella’s throat.

Cindra screamed as Stella gagged.

“Oh, Christ,” Oliver muttered beside me.

Satisfied she’d made her point, Umbra’s eyes searched the cliff. When her gaze landed on me, her cherub face split into a hideous grin.

“You buried me alive,” she called to me in her odd, discordant voice. She ignored Stella’s hands still weakly clutching at hers.

“You’re not buried,” I replied. “Or alive.”

“I am as alive as you. And I am here to take him back.” She flicked a claw at Fane where he stood next to me.

He stepped in front of me and peered down at her. “I’m not going back.”

“You must.”

“Why, Umbra? Why should I go back? You know what they’ll do to me if I do.”

“I do not care what they do to you. I want what was promised to me.”

“What did they promise you?” he asked, although he already knew.

She pointed one of her claws at me. “Her. Her body is mine.”

“And you think they’ll keep their promise? Look at you, Umbra. You serve a purpose to them, nothing more. When they get me back, they’ll discard you. They’ll start fresh. Like they’re going to do with me. Like they did with them.” He pointed to the androids who, having heard the commotion, had congregated on the hill beside us, Will at their head.

Lily and Ryan had also come, their eyes red-rimmed and their faces pale. When Lily saw Stella dangling from Umbra’s hand, her blood sinking into the pebbles, she fainted. Probably for the best. Ryan looked at us in horror. Again. You’ve brought us to hell, again.

Ignoring them, Umbra called out. “I will spare the rest, Fane. If you and my body come with me, I will leave this island and never come back.”

“You’re right,” Fane said, “you’ll never come back. Because Ethan and Lien will take you apart.”

“Celeste would never let that happen. I am her god.”

“Once Ethan gives her the chance to create a shiny new goddess? You’ll no longer be a god, Umbra, Celeste will. You’ll be what you’ve always been—a prototype. And you’ll be destroyed.”

“Fuck me.” Will whistled under his breath. “Is that Umbra?”

Umbra seemed suddenly to realize what the androids were. “I see you. Where did you get those bodies?” she demanded. “You look like them. Like him.” Her voice became even more dissonant as her rage grew. “Why did they not give me a body like that?”

“Because they’re not planning to keep you around,” Fane repeated.

Umbra was quiet for a moment. “I have another proposal.”

“What?” Fane asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You must come down here. I wish to talk as equals,” she challenged him.

“Fane—” I began.

“It’ll be fine,” he said. “I doubt anything she has to offer us, but Ethan happened to her as much as he did to us.”

“That kind of empathy will get you killed,” Oliver said. “And for the love of God, don’t offer her another body.”

“Fane, whatever you do, be careful. Whatever she says, don’t trust her—that’s how she got me.” The memory of Callum’s face, crowned by the rock Umbra used to crush my skull, was still fresh. Behind me, Tor tensed.

“I’ll be careful, I promise.” He flashed his dimpled grin at me and started down the path to the beach.

At the bottom, he stood just out of arm’s reach, his body taut. “Put Stella down.”

“Not yet. First, we will talk. So you will not come back?”

“No.”

“And you will not give me her body?”

“No.”

“Then you will give me one of their bodies.” She pointed her blades toward the androids. “Any one of them. You will put me in it, and then I will go. I will not go back, and I will not stay here. I will forget you.”

Ninety-nine pairs of eyes turned to Fane.

“No.”

“Why not? They are not sentient, like you and me. They are good for nothing but slavery. That is all they know. They do not know how to live.”

“They’re living now,” Fane replied. “So, no.”

Umbra’s fingers glinted dully in the sunless sky as she drew them again across Stella’s throat. As Stella’s blood soaked into the stones, Umbra smiled toothlessly at Fane.

Then she attacked.

Though he’d been prepared, he wasn’t fast enough to step out of her way, and the side of his face opened up. She danced away, goading him, wiping her lips with Stella’s blood.

The steel of a bear trap, the scraping of bone.

I’d never seen Fane angry. Happy, mischievous, passionate…but never angry. I didn’t even know if he was capable of it.

He was.

His face contorted, and his entire demeanor changed. He was on her before I saw him move.

He grabbed Umbra in a bear hug.

Her fan of blades sliced through his clothing.

He ripped off the arm that had held Stella, tossing it into the tide.

She carved into his back.

His skin hung in ribbons, the metal of his body exposed.

He tore off her face.

She brought up her weaponized leg and brought it down, opening him from groin to knee.

He’d once told me that he and Tor were built from the same original design, and I could see it now.

But he didn’t know how to fight.

A blur sped past me, dropping over the cliff and landing on the beach with a bone-jarring crunch. Tor.

Umbra saw him over Fane’s shoulder, and for the first time, what looked like fear crept into her expression.

“Hold her,” Tor screamed at Fane. “ Hold her!”

Umbra saw true death coming and struggled, trying to break free of Fane’s grasp. He locked his arms tighter, crushing her to him even as her blades cut deeper. Tor came up behind her and placed a hand on either side of her head. She flailed her arm back, trying for his throat, and he leaned back effortlessly, her blades catching only his shoulder.

Though they cut deep, Tor ignored the blood running in rivulets over his sides and twisted with all his considerable strength.

Umbra’s strident scream was like nails scraping over stone, vibrating my teeth and making my mouth water. Her body bucked against Fane as she tried to break free.

The tide came in, rushing faster than a cyborg could run.

“Tor!” Fane shouted.

Umbra screamed into Tor’s face one last time before her head came away from her neck. Tor staggered backward into the surf then turned and flung Umbra’s head as far into the ocean as he could. It sank without a splash.

Back on the shore, Fane had fallen to his knees, Umbra’s body still in his embrace. I took off running down the narrow path, Tor and Fane leaving my sight for seconds that felt like hours. When I finally reached them, Tor was carefully extracting Fane’s arms from around Umbra, wary of her blades. As he pulled Fane back, her body toppled front-down, and the water slid around it, lapping at the now-lifeless heap of metal.

Fane was a mess. The right side of his body was in tatters, his clothing and skin shredded. Through the gaps, his inner workings were laid bare. Ethan hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d said he wanted to recreate human life. He’d made Fane’s internal machinery to mimic a human’s, smooth layers of mechanical muscle and bone. He was beautiful.

And in shock. He stared at me unblinking, still on his knees. Tor gripped him by his shoulder and hauled him to his feet. “Come on, up we go.” His voice was low and soothing as he coaxed Fane along. “You’re okay. She’s gone.”

Fane’s gaze locked on Tor’s face, and he nodded.

“Fucking hell, look at the pair of you,” Oliver said over my shoulder.

“I’m fine,” Tor replied. “I’ll heal. But Fane is going to need some help.” He pressed his lips together as Fane ran his fingers over his exposed teeth. “I think you’re going to have a scar, my friend.”

At that, Fane came out of his shock. He grinned. “You think so?”

Tor laughed. “Yes, I do. A big one. Probably more than one.”

“Then it was worth it.”

“I can help you,” Will said. “You won’t be as pretty, but you’ll be whole.”

“That’s fine with me,” Fane said.

Will nodded. “I’ll go get everything ready.” He turned and wove through the androids, nodding at them as he went. They split down the middle, creating a path for Fane.

He looked at me.

“Go,” I said. “I’ll come and find you.”

He dipped his head in reluctance but went warily into the crowd of androids. As he passed, they reached out to touch him and smiled. He beamed back and straightened, pressing some of the hands that grasped for his. When he finished the gamut, he turned back to look at me and grinned, the joy of his acceptance shining on his face.

A flock of swallows, taking flight. A wreath of flowers, a crowning glory.

I laughed. “Go.”

The matriarchal android remained behind, considering me. “We will help you,” she said, her voice as regal as her bearing. “When they come, we will do what it takes.”

“Thank you,” I said, surprised. “What changed your minds?”

“He did.” She turned her head toward where Fane crested the rise. “He valued our lives. Now we will do the same for you.” She turned on her heel and walked away.

“Well, there you go,” Oliver said gazing after her. “Now we have our army.”

“Tor, you’d better come with me,” Cindra said, peering under the torn fabric of his bloodied shirt. “Just to be sure.”

“I will,” he said. “Just let me have a word with Ailith first.”

“Fine. Pax? Would you help me, please?”

Pax nodded and followed her, his youthful face pale and drawn. I made a mental note to speak to him later.

Tor lifted Stella’s body out of the water. Water and blood trickled over Tor’s forearms and dripped from his elbows. “I’m going to take her to the other side of the island. Bury her properly.”

“Thank you,” I said. “Tor, that was—”

“I know. But it’s almost over.”

“What if we don’t know how to live normally after this? What if we can’t?”

He shifted Stella’s weight in his arms. “Don’t worry, we will. It might take some time, but we will. Are you coming?”

“I’ll wait here for a while. Make sure Umbra’s really dead.” I knew she was, but I didn’t want to leave just yet.

After he left, I thought of Callum, of the conversation I’d seen through him after his cyberization.

“Umbra? Is that you?”

“I am here.”

“I was afraid you’d left me.”

“I will never leave you. We are one.”

I waited, watching until the ocean claimed Umbra’s body for its own.

We are one.